Desert Love
by Sabaku-Tama
Summary: GAARAxOC Gaara starts to finally feel love, but he is unable to realize it. Can one girl change his life for the better? Surprise twists are coming up... Muahaha! Rating for language
1. A Strange Sensation

((Okay, basically this is just a random FanFic I came up with one day, so wither or not you like it, I do. It is winter, and Gaara, Kurayami, Sasuke, etc. are 15-16 years old… So anyways, enjoy! ))

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do own my OC.**

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Gaara was sitting alone in his room, his sand swirling around him in annoyance. Everyone was invited to Konoha - The Village Hidden in the Leaves -, for the winter holidays, and his brother and sister had made him join them. For the past week he had merely sat alone, wishing he was back in his own village, but today he felt slightly different. Ever since his battle with Naruto he had been trying to become a better person, so the world didn't seem so negative to him anymore. A couple days ago he had stumbled upon a girl that lived in Konoha, her name was Kurayami, and she seemed to get along with everyone - she even wanted to get along with him...

Kurayami had been wandering outside and singing to herself near his dwelling and he had heard her; she had quite a lovely voice indeed. He intended to see her again today because he felt something change inside of him when he saw her. The feeling was odd - he had never experienced it before, and he intended to find out what is was.

With a final thought lying on the silver-haired ninja, Gaara stood up and headed out the door in search of the strange girl he felt so awkward around. The sand around him seeped back into his gourd as he walked through the fluffy snow. The frozen wind and falling snow irritated him, but he was determined nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Kurayami was once again outside, playing around in the snow with Sakura. They were both giggling and having too much fun to notice anything around them, so when Gaara found the two silly girls he merely stared in silence, the usual glare on his face. However, Kurayami was quick to stop and she politely stood, brushing the snow off of her. She smiled at him in a friendly and innocent manner and Gaara's heart rate increased... What was this disturbing but warming sensation that bubbled inside him?

As he thought, he was interrupted by Kurayami's quiet voice. **"Hello Gaara. How are you today?"** She asked softly, the innocent smile still playing across her face. Gaara tried to calm down and keep his cool. **"Fine."** He said simply, no emotion playing on his tone. Kurayami just kept smiling though. **"That's good. It's such a nice day outside - it would be a shame for anyone to feel bad."** She replied sweetly. She turned to Sakura whom had stood up behind her and had tapped her shoulder. **"C'mon, it's getting a little late don'cha think? Let's head back to my house and have some tea, 'kay?"**

Kurayami nodded sadly, her smile faltering slightly. But when she turned back to Gaara her smile returned to its cute glory. **"I'm so sorry Gaara; I have to go now... I'll see you around though!"** With one last smile the two girls started to happily dash off in another direction. Gaara's heart was beating quicker than usual. **"She has probably... used some sort of Jutsu on me... Yes, that must be it. How foolish of me to be so easily hit."** He concluded, slowly starting to walk back to his home to ponder this. Even if Kurayami was out of his sight, he could still feel his heart pumping in his chest.


	2. What Jutsu?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do own my OC.**

After another sleepless night, Gaara was still sitting up and eying his gourd in the corner of his room. Soon his teal eyes trailed to his face-up palms lying in his lap and he shook his head a little, his thoughts fading to Kurayami again.

**"What the hell is this Jutsu she used!"** He started angrily. **"I can't get her out of my mind!"** With that, he jumped off his bed and threw on his long sleeve dark red outfit with the tan colored vest. He quickly strapped his gourd to his back and dashed out of his home looking for Kurayami - he was going to confront her and demand that she release this damned Jutsu immediately.

Today Kurayami wasn't with Sakura; instead, she was hanging out by the forest with a small white rabbit, singing quietly to herself. At the moment Gaara caught sight of her his heart started to beat wildly - he thought she looked considerably cute this day... Wait, what was he thinking! This was definitely a Jutsu for sure...

**"Hello."** He said plainly, walking up to her and stopping a bit away. The rabbit jumped and dashed off into the forest when he spoke. He scowled at it, but was quickly brought away from his anger by Kurayami's voice. **"Hi Gaara!"** She said happily. Gaara could cleanly feel his heart throbbing inside him but he showed no emotion.

**"That Jutsu you used on me - remove it immediately Kurayami."** He said abruptly, glaring at her and trying to intimidate her. Kurayami looked away from the forest and gave him a confused look. **"What Jutsu?"** She asked. What the hell did he mean? **"The Jutsu. You know what it is. Remove it now."** He replied darkly. Kurayami stood up and met his eyes. **"Look, I don't have any reason to perform any kind of Jutsu on you, Gaara. Its winter, and I don't want to concentrate on training! So why don't you try someone who's a little more angsty and can't focus on relaxing? Say, Sasuke?"** She said annoyed, not looking the least bit innocent as she did before.

Gaara could feel his face color slightly from being yelled at. **"Fine. I'll try elsewhere. Gomen."** He said quickly, eager to get away. He turned from her and started to hurry off in another direction. His face was red and he used his sand to cover it as he went back over to his home. He jerked the door open and stomped into his room, the sand settling and going back into his gourd. He removed it from his back, set it in the corner, and sat down on his bed with his arms folded across his chest.

**"Damn girl..."** He mumbled, closing his black-rimmed eyes in thought. He thought of how angry she looked at him and he sighed, feeling defeated. **"Maybe it's not a Jutsu..."** He told himself quietly, his eyes opening a little. Not wanting to lay on the thought anymore, Gaara rested back on his bed, his eyes opened in a lazy, sophisticated way as he pondered about all of the Jutsus and such, trying to think of how he could have been affected by something as such.


	3. Onigiri Saves the Day!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do own my OC.**

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After Gaara had left, Kurayami's mind soon caught up with her. _I shouldn't have yelled at him..._ She thought, starting to slowly make her way over to his house. **"Maybe he'll let me apologize..."** She folded her arms over her chest like the red-haired boy as she walked her head straight and forward. When she got to his house she looked it over with her cool gray eye, and she smiled slightly. She brought her right hand over to the door in a comfortable fist and tapped on the door a few times, and then brought both hands behind her back.

Gaara groaned annoyingly as he sat up and trudged down the stairs to answer the door. When he opened it, there stood the girl he had thought placed a Jutsu on him. **"What do you want?"** He asked cooly, his teal eyes meeting hers. He felt his face color slightly but he ignored it, hoping she would too. **"I... wanted to apologize for being so rude to you..."** She answered quietly, seeming to stare right through him. Gaara quickly felt a little queasy as she stared at him.

**"...Whatever."** He said finally, about to close the door on her. Kurayami stuck her foot in between the wall and the door almost instantaneously. **"I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat... I really want to make it up to you..."** She said, her gaze never leaving him as she spoke. **"You mean like..."** He started. Was she asking him out or what? Suddenly his stomach felt like it was doing back flips. **"Err, never mind."** He finished, not wanting to stick to the thought anymore.

**"So do you want to? Please..."** She said, giving him puppy dog eyes. She knew that not even he could resist that face. Her friends always said it could reel in anyone. **"Well..."** Gaara said carefully, forcing himself not to smile at her seductive and childish face. **"Alright."** He said finally. He shot a quick glance back inside and wondered if he needed his gourd... No, probably not.

Kurayami removed her foot and smiled at him. **"Let's go then!"** She said happily, suddenly grabbing his hand and dashing off towards the direction of the Ramen shop. Gaara burned intensely on the inside the more she held onto his hand, but for a strange reason he felt like not letting go of her... This was definitely getting strange.

When the two reached the Ramen shop, Naruto, surprisingly, wasn't there devouring down a huge bowl of Ramen. Kurayami dragged Gaara inside still grasping his hand, and he soon just gently slid his hand out and back into his pocket. Kurayami blushed a little, thinking that she had probably made him quite nervous... She walked up to the counter, quickly followed by Gaara as she thought about what she wanted. **"Hmm... Gaara, do you like onigiri and sushi?"** She asked, turning back to him; his face was still slightly red. **"...Sure."** He replied quietly, refusing to let himself be taken in so easily by this odd girl's kindness. Kurayami ordered a fairly large plate of Onigiri and Sushi, and Gaara started to pull out some money. **"Gaara, I'm paying for this remember? I owe you, ne?"** She said, the playful smile plastered on her face as she whipped out some money of her own and paid. She grabbed the food and headed over to a table by the window.

Gaara sat down across from her in silence, wondering why she would pay for something for a guy like him... What did she want? Almost on cue with the thought, Kurayami politely grasped an onigiri and started nibbling on it thoughtfully, without getting rice all over her face or anything. Gaara's gaze soon fell upon her face and he blushed a bit, once again thinking she looked cute. Kurayami was quick to notice, and saw he wasn't eating. She stopped. **"Aren't you hungry Gaara? Sorry if it tastes bad or anything..."** She said quietly, her eye meeting his.

Gaara could just imagine the red-faced look he had and quickly turned away from her like he was suddenly fascinated with something outside. **"Oh, uh..."** Without looking he snatched a Dragon Roll Sushi and stuffed it into his mouth. It tasted... spicy. O.o However his expression bore no change as he quickly swallowed the small bit of rice and other items. After he finished he let out a small fake cough to break the silence, then started to eat. Kurayami smiled at this. **"I like Dragon Roll Sushi as well..."** She stated softly, finishing off her onigiri and getting some sushi for herself.


	4. Waiting, Watching, and Teasing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do own my OC.**

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After the meal, the two young ninjas strolled along the snowy streets of Konoha for a bit; a nervous silence was held between them for quite a while as well. Gaara still couldn't understand what had made him so... attached to this girl, but he was willing to find out by any means. Not knowing love throughout his entire life, it was going to be a challenge.

**"Gaara-kun?"**

Ah, the young girl had finally spoke up. The red-haired boy shifted his gaze to her face. **"What?"** Kurayami smiled, only wanting to see his face. **"Heh, never mind..."** She replied softly, focusing forward. **"You're strange."** Gaara said simply, snow beginning to lightly fall from the light gray sky. The girl giggled quietly. **"I know."**

They walked around for what seemed like hours until the dark of night had caught up to them. **"Oi, it's getting dark now... Maybe we should go back."** Gaara said finally, stopping and staring up at the sky. Kurayami laughed and grabbed his hand. **"Oi, you worried about me?"** She asked teasingly, starting to run back to Gaara's house. The boy did not reply; he merely followed.

It didn't take the two very long to make it back to Gaara's home; Kankuro and Temari were waiting outside the door. From a distance you could see the two forcing back smiles and whispering to each other as the young nins approached. **"Heh, hiya! Sorry we were gone forever!"** Kurayami stated, smiling up at the two older siblings. Temari nodded, trying her best to keep her glee to herself. **"No problem, just wondering where you two were..."** Kankuro took a chance at a joke right after, even though he was terrified of the teal-eyed boy that stood before them. **"Oi, yeah, we were wondering _where_ you two had gone."** The black clothed male winked at his sister and elbowed her, putting emphasis on the word 'where'.

**"Enough!"** Gaara said darkly, pushing through his siblings and storming up to his room in embarrassed fury. As he left Kankuro and Temari started to laugh a bit until they remembered the young girl that had been with their younger brother. **"Hehe, thanks for showing our stubborn brother a good time."** The blonde ninja said thankfully, smiling down to Kurayami. She nodded, and smiled at the two of them. **"We had a great time! Hehe, well, bai!"** With that the girl dashed off back in the direction of her home.

However, unknown to the girl, there were dark eyes hidden behind circles of glass watching her every move...

**"Hehe... Run little girl run... you won't have any free will much longer..."**


	5. The Dream and the Kidnapper

(Sorry about the last chapter being so short - damned writer's block... Don't worry though, this chapter is LONG!)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do own my OC.**

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Slightly breathing, the young girl continued to make her quick run to her home as the snow started to fall more heavily around her. The mysterious figure that was watching her stayed in place, as silent as the aftermath of a massacre. **"Run faster... I can still catch you..."**

Soon Kurayami was at her front door. She opened it quickly and closed it behind her as she walked into the empty house. The girl lived by herself at such a young age, it was hard to believe ever time the ninja re-entered. She shook her head a bit, eyes closed as she made her way up to the bathroom. She knelt by the tub and turned on the heated water. Slowly as the water filled, she stared at her silver-eyed reflection that stared back at her like a foggy mirror. The girl sighed, and dipped her hand in the water, mixing up the face that stared ever-so melancholy. Diving into her own pitied thoughts she undressed and sank into the water; it was a sort of confined tomb that she could bury herself in whenever she felt uneasy.

Moving a hand to her face she brushed the silver hair away from her other eye, covered by bandages still. She ripped them off, still in her trance-like state of mind, revealing one that looked similar to the other, except an evil looking scar was burned in a diagonal fashion over the eye that was always covered. Kurayami ran a slightly shaking finger to her eye and ran it over the burning mark - it was deep black-purple in color, the sort of shade like Sasuke's dark Chakra.

Another sigh left her lips as her hand fell back into the water. The girl closed her eyes again, thinking.

Meanwhile, Gaara nearly ripped the door off to his room, face burning with mixed emotions at the moment. He shot a glance to his gourd of sand then threw himself on his bed, making a squeaking sound as he did. He breathed in heavily, slightly shaking. His siblings feared him, so why did they joke? That girl. That was it. They were making fun of him for being with a _girl_.

**"Bastards."** Gaara mumbled, rolling over on his back. He stared up at the light-tanned colored ceiling. Her rubbed his dark eyes with his hand, feeling tired after running around with Kurayami all day. **"What is this...? This sort of... connection I feel around her... It's strange... it's new to me..."** He said quietly, keeping his hand over his face. The light was on in his room - it annoyed him a lot, enough not to concentrate. The cork popped out of the gourd in the corner, and sand floated over to the switch, flicking off the light. The sand seemed to grab the cork as it flew back in, becoming the way it was before.

Gaara sighed, and soon fell into an unpleasant sleep...

**_Inside Gaara's Dream_**

The blood-red haired boy slowly entered a misty forest, barely being able to see anything. Each step he took echoed eerily, then, in the distance, he could see the outline of a figure... It seemed familiar...

**"Kurayami?"**

He ran up to it, and he was right. The girl was standing on the edge of a cliff, sorrowfully looking down into its depths. **"Kurayami, what are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself if you stand there..."** Gaara said; he was much different in his dreams than in reality. He reached for her hand, but it fell through like a ghost. **"What the..?"** He tried to pull her away by her shoulder - the same thing happened. He backed away, scared, and bumped into a tree. His gaze never left her, and the misty Kurayami slowly turned to Gaara, her face blank and cold...

**"Gaara."** The girl said her voice dark and clearly ringing in his ears. **"You're becoming weak."**

**"What?"**

**"You're weak. You've fallen for a girl and now you can't concentrate."**

**"I - What? What do you mean?"**

**"Don't speak. Just die."**

His eyes widened as he tried to back up more. This wasn't the Kurayami he knew... Was it? Slowly, the girl started to step towards him, sand from his own gourd flying at her and engulfing her. She stopped for a moment; Gaara thought his sand had saved him, but this wasn't the case. The sand exploded, revealing Shuukaku, the demon that plagued him from birth. **"N-No..."** The boy started, staring into the golden eyes of his own monster. Shuukaku stepped forward, and in one swift move he picked up the young boy, crushing his gourd to sand. **"W-What's happening!"** Gaara was panicking as his demon started to laugh tormenting at him, holding his small prey a bit tighter.

**"Poor boy... Don't you remember? You can't trust anyone! So why get so close to a girl like that?"** With this, Shuukaku pointed to the edge of the cliff - there stood Kurayami, the real one. She was bound tightly by sand-like chains, and her headband had been tied over her mouth. She was standing as she stared at Gaara with fear, tears streaming down her cheeks.

**"Let her go! She did nothing to you!"** Gaara shouted. Shuukaku grasped him tighter, and Gaara could feel his body about to burst from the pressure. **"P-Please... Let... her... go..."** At this time, Kurayami shook the headband away from her mouth, falling around her neck. **"Gaara! Wake up!"** She yelled. **"Wake up! Please!"**

**_End Dream_**

Temari and Kankuro were standing worried by their brother's bedside. Temari was shaking his shoulders furiously, yelling at him. **"Wake up Gaara!"** She said frantically. Soon, Gaara's eyes opened slowly, revealing the teal hidden behind the black. The two siblings quickly rejoiced and Temari embraced him. **"Damn Gaara! You scared the hell out of us!"** She said frantically, not caring if Gaara were to injure her later for such contact. **"What do you mean!"** He asked angrily. Kankuro responded before his sister. **"You were sweating furiously, shaking a lot... You looked... scared."** He said, gaze falling to the young nin.

Temari finally released him, and continued to sit on his bed. **"We were worried, that's all. We were scared of... Shuukaku..."** Gaara slightly nodded, and turned away from them. **"Make sure I don't fall asleep."** He said flatly.

By now, Kurayami had finished her bath and was lying on the couch downstairs. She was wearing a soft, dark gray robe with matching Usagi slippers over a black nightgown. She heard something fall outside, and sighed. Whatever it was, it was interrupting her movie! She stood and opened the door, forgetting to close it as she stepped out a bit into the snow. Suddenly, a quick blow was delivered to the back of her neck and she fell limp into the arms of the secretive watcher.

**"That's right, go to sleep..."** He said quietly, smirking to himself at the prize he had obtained. Without closing the girl's door he vanished from Konoha.


End file.
